Hockey is a sport played on ice. The game is played with a hard rubber puck, and metal or wooden shafted sticks. Physical contact between players from opposing teams and their sticks, and even occasionally between players from the same teams, is an integral part of the game of hockey. Hockey is played by adults, as well as by many children and has variations, including ringette, shinny hockey and the like.
Because of the physical contact, and, because the game is played on a slippery ice surface, it is not always possible to predict or control how the contact is made. Therefore, hockey equipment is generally designed to prevent injury when such physical contact is made between players, sticks and opponents. This protective equipment includes helmets, shoulder pads, shin pads, elbow pads and the like.
As the game has evolved, better and additional protective equipment has been developed which facilitates the playing of the game of hockey. The new protective equipment is lighter, stronger and offers more protection. However, it may be more awkward to use.
For example, more recently, there has been a tendency to use gloves with a shorter cuff on the sleeve. Typically, the cuff of hockey glove is reenforced, to protect the arm of the wearer against inadvertent slashing by an opponent. However, the longer cuff makes movement of the hand more difficult, and thus inhibits smooth stick handling or shooting. Therefore, a hockey glove with a shorter cuff has become preferred. However, the short cuff leaves a section of the wrist exposed and vulnerable to a slash from an opponent's hockey stick. Consequently, small protective wrist guards have been developed which can be applied to the wrist in a manner similar to elbow pads. To apply the slash guard requires an additional dressing step, and further belts or straps.
Additionally, there have been several instances of extremely grievous injuries caused when an opponent's skate makes contact with the neck of a hockey player. The skates include metal blades which are sharp, and can cause grievous cuts. Therefore, it is now mandatory in many hockey leagues, especially for children, that the players wear neck guards. These neck guards typically consist of rip proof nylon, with associated padding, to prevent a skate blade from cutting into the neck of a wearer. Again, to wear the neck guard requires an additional dressing room step. However, these devices, while mandatory are easily lost or misplaced by children, leading to aggravation and frustration for children and parents alike.
Therefore, while providing more protection and thus being better for safety, a problem with these devices is that each needs to be applied in a separate dressing step, or removed in a separate undressing step, which is time consuming, awkward, and less than satisfactory. Additionally, these devices tend to become sweat filled over time, and, are not easily washed. In this way, they can become unhygienic.